Sunday Mirror

Will you get prosecuted for cannabis possession? IT’S POT LUCK

Alert as fake ketamine found in UK

- BY ALAN SELBY

A DANGEROUS new designer drug has been discovered in the UK for the first time.

Super-strength fake ketamine was found when students fell ill after taking a substance they thought was the Class B drug.

Fiona Measham, a criminolog­y professor and director of drug Nottingham­shire Cleveland

West Midlands Humberside Cheshire Derbyshire Hertfordsh­ire Devon & Cornwall Durham

Surrey Merseyside 1,068 Greater Manchester 367 Metropolit­an Police 6,148 safety testing group The Loop, revealed the findings after samples were brought into a mobile testing centre in Durham.

She said the 2-FDCK substance was 50 per cent stronger than ketamine and lasted up to three times as long – raising fears users could be put at risk.

Ms Measham said: “It was first 581 239 883 189 438

165 366 285 75 189 542 225 1,013 259 615

623 1,398 1,109 396 1,222 2,745 1,090 18,497 51.7% 51.5% 46.6% 42.2% 41.6%

20.9% 20.7% 20.4% 15.9% 13.4% 28.0% 25.2% 24.9% identified in Europe in 2016. It is the first time that this drug has been identified in the UK.”

The Loop believes the fake drug may also be on sale in Manchester.

The organisati­on said sales of the fake drug mirror the supply of fentanyl, a stronger chemical copy of heroin which has led to tens of thousands of deaths in the US.

 ??  ?? WILL YOU BE CHARGED? Rates vary depending on where you livePolice ForceTOP FIVEBOTTOM FIVEMAJOR CITIES Charged Out-of-Court ChargeSanc­tions Rate HEALTH RISKS From cannabis
WILL YOU BE CHARGED? Rates vary depending on where you livePolice ForceTOP FIVEBOTTOM FIVEMAJOR CITIES Charged Out-of-Court ChargeSanc­tions Rate HEALTH RISKS From cannabis
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 ??  ?? WARNING Prof Fiona Measham
WARNING Prof Fiona Measham

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